Mettle
by Manigault
Summary: This has taken on a life of its own...Post of other chapters :0)
1. Approach

Title: Mettle  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. If they were there would be no Hank and no LH. They belong to CBS, Atlantic-Alliance, and Anthony Zuicker. The dialogue is not mine. Belongs to the writers G.  
  
Spoilers: OHW  
  
Category: This is G/S angst.  
  
Side note: Very short. Possibly a drabble? Not sure, but it made me feel better and R & R would be much appreciated.  
  
He saw her enter the locker room and waited, impatient for her to emerge. Thirty minutes elapsed and his concern for her emotional state increased. Of course he knew the outcome of the case she had reopened and could only wonder at the way she was handling the results. He was proud of her for discovering the truth and facing it with the strong convictions that made her so special to him.  
  
He frowned at himself, quickly denied that she held a significant part of his life in her hands, and then reminded himself that she had betrayed him. He frowned again, questioning his own right to believe that she had done anything to him, much less betrayed him.  
  
These thoughts echoed in his steps as he walked along the hallway and then stepped inside the locker room to find her sitting on the bench, lost in contemplation, but otherwise in apparent control. Refusing to admit his reason for visiting the locker room, he turned to the shelves of books and stared at the titles without seeing the words.  
  
Sara never looked up when he entered the room. Instead, she began to speak with words that snuck quickly through his damaged stapes and reached into his heart.  
  
"I never think that." He replied.  
  
"Ever?" The question was so direct, her voice so challenging. Their eyes locked and he looked quickly down. She could read so much in his eyes and he could never lie to her when she was staring at him with such perception.  
  
He had to escape from this room. Air was beginning to seep from his lungs and the urge to walk to her, stoop in front of her or straddle the bench beside her and take her hands in his own made it impossible for him to remain.  
  
Distance. He needed distance and a distraction. An outside distraction away from this place. Away from Sara.  
  
"The best intentions are fraught with disappointment." He managed to speak, relieved that his voice was strong and confident.  
  
"Emerson?"  
  
"Grissom."  
  
A long look and he stepped away, leaving the door ajar.  
  
TBC? 


	2. Tarnished

Title: Mettle  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Disclaimer: See chapter one.  
  
Spoilers:LHB.  
  
Category:G/S/A  
  
Grissom POV  
  
These days they barely exchanged looks with one another as they processed a scene. He watched Sara stroll in with Warrick, laughing with him as he teased her, their voices echoing in the deep chamber he was standing within. He heard him question her as to whether or not Hank brought her to places like this and her response to the teasing. Internally he growled, the thought of Sara in a place like this turned his stomach and gave him the urge to order her off the case. The feeling increased as they stood in the room with the handcuffs placed on the wall and she uttered that word.freaks. That was how Sara saw this lifestyle and how he himself viewed this world and yet it was a distraction. The case could be the distraction he needed to take his mind off the two things that were causing him to lose his balance-his hearing and Sara.  
  
When he discovered that the night club murder was linked to Lady Heather, then he knew that Sara could not be with him on this case. He knew what her response would be to someone like Lady Heather, and her reaction would affect him in a way that he did not need at this time. He also did not want Lady Heather to see him with Sara and analyze his relationship with her or lack of one, if he was honest with himself. Scowling, Grissom blocked these thoughts from his mind as he and Brass approached Lady Heather. It was during this interview that his hearing decided to flee and he was forced to read her lips as she spoke with them. When she called him on it he was startled, but quickly found his footing and replied to the amusement of Brass. Walking away from this encounter he found himself thinking how different Lady Heather was from Sara. With Lady Heather he did not have to feel anything real, he did not have to dig deep within and feel that part of himself that Sara somehow commanded.  
  
He was vulnerable as he stood there and she asked him about his hearing. His hearing and Sara were tied together in his mind and he did not want to think of either of them, he did not want to think of Sara being with Hank, apart from his life. He shut out all of the warning bells that were ringing furiously in his mind, shut out all of the facts that he knew concerning Lady Heather and all that she stood for, all that he stood against. His principles were pushed aside, his hearing crisis was pushed away, and Sara. He refused to think of Sara. Refused. Inside he hardened his heart to ignore all of the principals he stood for and he tried to regain his balance.  
  
Sara POV  
  
It was so frustrating. Working with him, not working with him. They barely looked at one another anymore, and she was left with such a lonesome feeling when they did work the same case. The banter that had always come so easily for them had faded and she could not help but wonder if she had done this herself. She had gone out with Hank as friends and it had backfired in a way that still made her angry at herself and yes, with Grissom. She was angry with him for not believing her when she told him that she and Hank were not in a relationship. She was angry that he did not approach her and ask her for clarification, instead he told her that she deserved to have a life. The distance between them had only grown and it left her feeling so sad. There was a time when they worked almost every case together but lately he was constantly shifting her off on her own or with Warrick, Nick, or Catherine. Now he was doing the shifting again, giving her sole responsibility of investigating the case involving one of his best friends. Why had he given her this case instead of taking it himself? She had heard the rumors concerning Lady Heather and simply shook her head. The grapevine had it that Grissom was smitten with that dominatrix. If they were pre-Hank, then she would tease him about the rumors, about Gil Grissom being attracted to a woman that made a living out of pitting women and men together in a dominant versus submissive manner. It was insanity.  
  
She tried to ignore the smirks that floated throughout the lab as she worked on finding the person responsible for leaving Catherine's child in a sinking car, the person who had killed Catherine's ex husband. She needed to speak with her friend, with the man she had leaned on for years when life became to burdensome. She did not know where he had vanished and it irked her when she heard that the Grissom she knew was sweet on a dominatrix. She had done her best to prove who murdered Eddie, to provide evidence to convict them, and it was not good enough. Catherine was disappointed in her efforts, and she had to admit that she was disappointed with herself even as she knew, she knew that she had done her best. With determination in her stride she decided to confront Grissom, air out their problems, and find the friend that she needed.  
  
He stood there, stood in front of the two way glass outside of the interrogation room where Brass was questioning Lady Heather. Sara watched with a sick feeling as Grissom stared through the glass. She heard the words that pummeled her mind and made her catch her breath even as she spun on her heels and left the room unnoticed. She wondered if she would ever find the friend that she had known less than a year ago.  
  
Grissom's POV  
  
He sat in his car and stared out of the window in the direction of Lady Heather's house of imbalance. A shudder ran through his veins as he evaluated his actions of the past few days. Ignoring everything he stood for he had ventured out of his safe environment and tried to become someone he did not recognize. He had allowed himself to sink to a level that made him feel unclean. Tarnished. He wondered what Sara thought of him and if he had alienated the one woman that could balance his world again with a smile. He knew that she had overheard the comments in the interrogation room. Knew that with her quick mind she had drawn conclusions. What had he done.  
  
TBC maybe. 


	3. Starting Over

Title: Mettle  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Disclaimer: The same as chapter one.  
  
Spoilers: I don't think so.  
  
It was funny how one decision can alter ones perspective on life in ways that could never have seemed possible. This was how Grissom felt as he walked into the lab the next evening.  
  
Running through the assignments he handed them out without making eye contact with his team, earning questioning looks from everyone sitting around the table. He stopped at one empty seat and frowned.  
  
"Where is Sara?" Grissom asked with only the slightest hint of irritation transforming his voice.  
  
Catherine and Warrick exchanged another significant look before Warrick replied.  
  
"I don't know, Griss, but I think she had the night off." He grinned towards Nick and then added with a teasing air, "I think Hank was taking her to some S & M club."  
  
The expression Grissom sent him and everyone else at the table chased all amusement away replacing it with tension. Grissom squared his shoulders, pushed his glasses back up on his nose and let the folder he was holding fall to the table with a loud thud.  
  
"I don't think Sara would find that amusing Warrick." Grissom replied with a withering look that encompassed each of the men. Turning to Catherine he informed her that she would be with him on a 419 and then he left the room without another word.  
  
Warrick stared at the table in front of him while Nick suppressed a smirk and Catherine pushed her chair back and stood. With a shake of her blond hair she patted Warrick on the shoulder and left the conference room.  
  
"Not a word Nick," Warrick muttered.  
"You were a little hard on Warrick, don't you think Grissom?" Catherine pushed her sun glasses onto her nose and slid into the front seat of Grissom's Tahoe.  
  
"And you should have taken a few days off to be with Lindsey." Grissom snapped back, instantly regretting the words but not knowing how to take them back. He felt Catherine's bitterness as she glared across the seat at him.  
  
"If you are really concerned about my child, Gil, then you have an odd way of showing it." Catherine breathed with a sharpness that calmed her nerves, "Lindsey is with her aunt for a few days. She wanted to spend time with her cousins."  
  
Grissom did not reply but turned the key in the ignition and started the car. He was not sure when his friendship with Catherine had become so strained or when breakfast after hard cases had stopped. He had been so preoccupied with his hearing crisis, with missing whatever it was he had with Sara, that he had not even noticed his friendship with Catherine drifting apart. Maybe it had begun years ago when he had been given the leadership position and was no longer one of the guys. Was he ever one of the guys? He could not help but wonder this as he pulled into the parking lot of the crime scene, one aspect of his life that had not changed.  
Sara's Apartment  
  
What a life she was leading outside of the lab. Grabbing the latest copy of Forensic Science she plopped onto her sofa and curled her feet beneath her and settled in for a long night.  
  
She could be sitting in a movie theater with Hank watching some flick that kept her second guessing the characters. Turning a page of the article, she grimaced as her internal voice kept overriding the words on the page. She was so tired of movie dates with Hank, although she was trying her best to convince herself that she was happy with him. That she should be happy with him because he offered her the life everyone thought she should be living. Including Grissom. Frowning she concentrated on the page in front of her, shifting positions until she was leaning back against the sofa pillows.  
  
Regardless of how she tried, images of Grissom kept intruding in her thoughts every time she read a paragraph that made her want to share a particular fact with him. She recalled the time, not too long ago when she asked him if he wanted a copy and he had responded with an answer that made her spine tingle. He told her that he did not need a copy.  
  
"He has me." She whispered slapping the magazine against her knee. Only she had not been there for him lately, not like either of them was used to being in the past and that was something she would like to change. She wondered what case he was working on tonight and who he was working with, Warrick or Nick? The prospect of his working with Catherine did not enter her mind as she was certain that she would be home comforting Lindsey. After another hour of fruitless reading she tossed the magazine aside and reached for her phone. She would check on the lab and see what was going on.  
  
TBC 


	4. Speak

Title: Mettle  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Disclaimer: The same as chapter one.  
  
Spoilers: Only if I'm psychic.which I'm not BTW.  
  
Thanks: To everyone that has read and reviewed. It is always nice to read feedback.  
Sara's Apartment  
  
"Hey Greggo," Sara gripped the phone in her right hand while staring blankly up at the ceiling tiles. "What's new? Any interesting cases tonight?"  
  
On the other end of the phone line, several miles away in the CSI crime lab, Greg Sanders blinked rapidly and bit back a grin.  
  
"You and Hankie break up, Sara?" Greg barely kept the anticipation from his voice as he continued with an eagerness that was not lost on Sara. "You have not called me to scope out the scene here on your day off in oh- ." Sara pictured him looking at his calendar. "In months."  
  
"Greg," Sara was not certain if it was amusement or irritation that accosted her when Greg questioned her concerning Hank. "Where are the guys? Are they on a case?"  
  
"By guys, I take it you mean Warrick and Nick? Or do you refer to Grissom the stud?"  
  
Now Sara was certain that it was irritation that assaulted her as she ignored Greg's teasing. "Warrick and Nick. Are they there?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well," Sara said after the silence stretched into minutes and Greg did not elaborate. "What kind of case are they working on?"  
  
"Hold on a minute, Sara." Greg hit a button and watched the lab results start printing. Before he could return to his conversation with Sara, a bemused voice spoke from behind him.  
  
"Do you have my lab results Greg?"  
  
The sound of his voice vibrating along the wire sent that tingle across her spine that she did not know how to suppress. Squeezing her eyes tight she waited for him to respond to whatever Greg told him. What she did not expect were Greg's next words.  
  
"I'm printing out something for Ecklie first, but yours is next on my schedule. Here, talk to Sara while I take these results to him."  
  
Sara's eyes flew open and she sat up with a suddenness that caused the Forensic Science journal to crash to the floor.  
  
"Greg! No it's okay!"  
  
The silence on the line was heavy. She took a deep breath and asked with a weakness that was very unlike her.  
  
"This is not Greg, is it?"  
  
Grissom, who was frozen on the other end of the line, felt his voice freed from its restraints. "No." His tone was laced with sarcasm. "This is Grissom, the man who-." Grissom broke off, not knowing what he was about to say, not believing he was about to say something he had not thought out in detail.  
  
"The man who what? Grissom?" Sara felt her gut wound tight as a knot and waited for him to explain.  
  
"Nothing." Grissom shook his head in self doubt. "I thought that you had the day off, Sara, that you would be out with that EMT doing something fun."  
  
Releasing her breath she tried to ignore the stab of pain as she forced lightness into her voice. "Who says that I'm not?"  
  
The silence was thick with tension as Sara berated herself for being so childish. Why was she behaving like a school girl with a crush? She moved the journal with her toe and stared into space.  
  
"Then why are you still talking with me?" Grissom asked into the silence.  
  
TBC 


	5. Need

Title: Mettle  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Disclaimer: Same as chapter one.  
  
Spoilers: No spoilers.  
  
Thanks: To everyone that has read and reviewed or just read-thank you.  
  
Sara contemplated his question, asking herself why it was that she found herself at home, alone, talking on the phone to the one person that turned her life inside out. She could say the obvious, that Greg handed him the phone and she had no choice. She could fib and tell him that Hank was in the bathroom, on his way over, in the kitchen. Or, and this was the most difficult part, she could tell him the truth.  
  
"I called to see what Warrick and Nick were working on tonight."  
  
She could almost see Grissom process her words, his mind spinning as he went back to the heart of his question.  
  
"Why are you still talking with me?" Grissom asked again, this time curiosity replaced the previous tension.  
  
A heavy sigh reached his ears as he waited for her response. He could see Greg walking back down the hallway from delivering the print results to Ecklie and knew his conversation with Sara was about to come to an end, but still he waited.  
  
"I was waiting for Greg to tell me about Warrick and Nick's case." Sara finally admitted, adding silently that she was hoping he would inadvertently mention Grissom and his case. "What about you? Are you working an interesting case?"  
  
A slight smile lit Grissom's lips and he turned his back on the approaching figure of Greg. The old Sara was talking to him on the phone and for a second, just a second he wondered if he could be reaching back in some time warp to speak with the Sara Sidle that he knew before she had 'gotten a life'. A life that did not involve him.  
  
"Every case is interesting in its own way." Grissom mused. "Are you interested in coming in and giving me a hand with the evidence?"  
  
"Are you asking me for my help?" Sara could not keep the smile from her voice. "Do you need me?" She drew the word need out in a teasing voice.  
  
Grissom pressed the phone against his ear and debated his next words with care. If he said no, that Catherine was processing what little evidence they had and was in no mood for company, then he would be possibly slamming another door between Sara and himself that would take a crow bar to open. If he said yes, then what evidence would he present her with when she showed up to help him out?  
  
"Grissom? Are you there?" The uncertainty in Sara's voice touched his mind and he found himself speaking without direct thought of the consequences.  
  
"Uh, Sara? I-I can use your help if you aren't busy."  
  
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Sara replied, and with the click of the phone echoing in his ears, Grissom was left staring blankly at the wall.  
  
"Can I have my phone back, Grissom?"  
  
Greg tapped the older man on the shoulder wondering what Sara had said to the man to get him so spaced out.  
  
"Grissom? My phone?" Greg persisted.  
  
Without a word, Grissom handed the phone to Greg before leaving the room. He did not hear Greg calling after him about informing him when his lab results would be ready. The lab results were the least of his worries as he sought out the one person that would question his decision. Warrick would have shrugged before he clued Sara in on the case, and Nick would have teased her about being here on her day off but-.  
  
Grissom entered the layout room where Catherine was bent over an odd assortment of debris.  
  
"Hey Cath." Grissom ran his hand over the rim of the table, earning a scowl. "I asked Sara to help us out with the case." He decided that coming straight to the point was the best approach. He winced as the blond head snapped upward and piercing eyes sliced his way.  
  
"I don't need assistance, Grissom." Catherine bit out, refraining from adding, especially Sara. "Besides I thought that Sara had the day off."  
  
"She is coming in for awhile to give us a hand." Grissom told her without apology. "I asked her to help us out."  
  
Catherine stared at him for a full minute before shaking her head in disbelief. "I don't get it, Grissom. This case isn't that difficult, nothing we haven't handled in the past." She pointed a gloved hand at him. "Isn't Sara on overtime?"  
  
"Field overtime, not lab." Grissom waved his hand at the articles. "If you want to take off early and check on Lindsey then Sara can help me with this."  
  
When there was no response from Catherine, he risked a look in her direction. She was giving him that 'I don't believe this' look with a hint of a smile.  
  
"You have terrible timing, Grissom." She said. Whatever smile she was sporting was gone in a second. Pulling off the latex gloves she slapped them onto his chest before leaving him to ponder what she meant by his having 'terrible timing.'  
  
TBC 


	6. Timing

Title: Mettle  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Disclaimer: The same as chapter one.  
  
Spoilers: Nope  
  
Thanks: Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed or simply read this far.  
  
Note: There is no plot in this story. I'm briefly touching on the outskirts of a case, but very briefly.  
  
Apologies: It is such a short story to be taking so long, but my muse has run away. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________  
Sara paused in the doorway, watching Grissom as he bent over the table and examined a black comb. Replacing it on the table he made a sweeping motion with his hand and spoke as his eyes remained trained on the table.  
  
"All of this junk was in the parking lot where our victim, Marc Brown, was found." Grissom turned his body part way towards her, in such a way that Sara was certain he was aware of her presence and not speaking with himself. That thought made her grin as she approached his side with caution.  
  
Grissom picked up a worn blue New Balance sneaker. When Catherine left she had not given him a report of what she had discovered, verbal or otherwise, and he was back at square one. A fact that really did not trouble him when he felt Sara's presence beside him, her arm pressing into his as she surveyed the items.  
  
"What do you have so far, Grissom?" Sara asked as she turned to stare at the unshaven face beside her own. Why did he not shave today? Sara frowned over this question but refrained from asking him-yet.  
  
"Greg is running a lab report on the hair that we found in the comb, plus some blood that was on the sneaker."  
  
"It won't match the victim." Sara said this with such confidence Grissom's eyebrows shot up and he turned his whole body until he was facing her.  
  
"And how do you know that?" Grissom's tone was soft, yet puzzled.  
  
Frail shoulders lifted in a slight shrug and she managed to keep the laughter from her lips as she stared into his wide blue eyes.  
  
"I'm good, Grissom. You should know that by now."  
  
The wide eyes narrowed to a knowing slant. "You ran into Greg, didn't you?"  
  
Sara reached behind her back and pulled out a sheet of paper. Waving the report in front of his face she let the pent up laughter drift from her lips as she smiled into his now twinkling blue orbs. She watched him peruse the sheet then tilt his head as he caught her staring at him.  
  
"Like I said, we are back to square one." He told her, his lips tilting in a smirk.  
  
"When did you say that?" Sara asked him as she gazed back at him, wondering if she could have missed part of a conversation while she was staring at him from the doorway.  
  
Without replying Grissom turned back to the table and pointed to a pale purple sheet. "Our victim was found wrapped up in that sheet in the parking lot of a gas station."  
  
Sara searched for a box of latex gloves and asked the next question on her mind. "Where is Catherine? I thought she was working this case with you."  
  
With only the slightest hesitation, Grissom said in an offhand way. "Catherine decided to take a day off."  
  
"Ahhhh," Sara snapped the glove on her small hands before continuing. "She did not want to work with me, huh?"  
  
"That's not-." Grissom broke off his defense with one glance into Sara's 'I dare you to say that' face. "No. She didn't want to share."  
  
A smile lit up Sara's face as she nudged Grissom with her elbow. "That wasn't so hard, was it Gris?" The laughter faded from her face as she pondered the significance of Catherine leaving to avoid working with her. "I wonder how long it will take Catherine to forgive me for not putting Eddie's killer away."  
  
Grissom was startled by the revelation. He had been so preoccupied with his own troubles that he had not even bothered to seek Sara out and ask her about her feelings regarding the whole Eddie case.  
  
"I'm sure that you did your best, Sara, and Catherine could not expect less from you." He was positive this assurance would be enough to satisfy Sara, as its truth was obvious to anyone with eyes.  
  
"It's not that simple, Grissom." Sara picked up the discarded comb and stared at the angry teeth that held someone's dark brown strands in its grip. "I think that Catherine won't be so quick to let this go and I don't know how to convince her that I did everything that I legally could do, to prove the case against Eddie's killer." A faraway look entered her face as it transformed in pain. "You know that if I could have thrown that girlfriend of Eddie's in jail until her hair turns gray, then I would have." She turned serious eyes to Grissom, who was giving her his undivided attention. "If someone had left my child in a sinking car like that-that- bitch did then I would be angry with anyone that did not put her away."  
  
"You did 'put her away' for a time, Sara, you know that." Grissom recalled the report that Sara had left on his desk. It was professional. It was without the emotion that she was displaying now, a fact that he should have perceived would thrive between the lines of her report. Catherine was right in one regard, his timing was terrible.  
  
TBC 


	7. Paths

Title: Mettle  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters.  
  
Spoilers: Only in my mind.  
  
Thanks: All of the reviews were wonderful. Thanks to everyone. Edited for you, LSI.  
They worked together with the harmony of a past unhindered by outside influences that masqueraded as 'getting a life'. The case unraveled by dawn, leaving each of the investigators with a feeling of satisfaction that was enhanced with a surge of adrenaline.  
  
Grissom stood beside Sara as she leaned back against her Tahoe, her expressive eyes sparkling with the thrill of working with Grissom and solving another case.  
  
"It feels good closing this case, doesn't it?" Sara asked him with a slight hitch in her voice that she hoped he did not notice.  
  
"Very." Grissom did notice the strange catch in her voice, but he decided that exploring it would only lead to paths he was not ready to travel. Instead he decided it would be to his advantage to high tail it home. "Thanks, Sara, you really helped me out."  
  
The air appeared to shift before her very eyes as Sara heard the change in Grissom's attitude. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs, before offering him a tight smile.  
  
"We are back to polite conversation, Grissom?" Sara pushed away from the Tahoe, but kept her eyes on his startled face even as she fished for her keys in the bag slung over her shoulder.  
  
"Sara-I-." Grissom searched for the correct words, the ones that would take that look of resignation from her face and allow the sparkle to return to her warm brown eyes. "I didn't mean to sound stand offish."  
  
He grimaced at the way he must sound. Stand offish? With a scowl he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and wished he could take the last five minutes back. His frown eased though as he saw the twinkle in those beautiful eyes and the quirk of the lips as she fought what he knew would be a full scale laugh.  
  
"What did I say?" Grissom asked with a small smile of his own. He shifted from one foot to the other, but refused to take his eyes from her smiling face.  
  
"You want me to repeat it?" Sara managed between a grin that dazzled him in the morning light.  
  
"You better not." Grissom replied with a mock look of dismay as he looked around the parking lot at the departing and arriving investigators. He ignored the curious looks and turned back to the only person that he cared about at that second. "Would you like to go someplace for coffee and maybe talk?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Sara asked as the grin slipped from her face. Wondering if she was day dreaming or if she had actually heard Gil Grissom ask her out for coffee and to talk, she repeated the question. "Did you just say what I think you said?"  
  
"Coffee. Talk." Grissom repeated with a short shake of his head. "Is that so hard to fathom, Sara?"  
  
"With you, Grissom, yes it is."  
  
"Well?" Grissom started to regret the invite and worse, question Sara's response. "You know, Sara, forget it. Go home and get some sleep."  
  
"I want to go someplace and have coffee with you Gris, and talk." Sara gripped the keys in her hand and berated herself for giving him a hard time. "Your place or mine?"  
  
She could not help it. The urge to tease him was ingrained in her, and she enjoyed the startled look that coursed through the blue depths of his eyes and the way his eyebrow arched.  
  
"I thought we could go to this café that isn't too far from here." Grissom replied without missing a beat. Inside he felt the urge to say 'my place, your place, a hotel, the Tahoe.' "I thought you could follow me there so that we don't have to leave one of our cars here."  
  
"We don't want rumors started." Sara said with a dry laugh. She suppressed the thought of other rumors that had run rampant throughout the lab.  
  
Grissom sighed. He knew why she was averting her eyes, and also knew that was one of the things they should talk about. He was picking a trail; he only hoped the destination would prove worth the risk.  
  
The End. 


End file.
